After nearly 400 different movies were nominated, the field of 64 has been set. The first round will commence today. You will vote for matchups in the Michael Corleone and John McClane regions. You have until midnight on Wednesday to vote for your choices in those regions. Popular vote will determine which movie advances, and in the case of a tie in voting, the tiebreak score will determine who moves forward. I will do a brief rundown of each matchup that includes my vote in that matchup under a spoiler warning. Let the tournament begin!
#1 seed Raiders of the Lost Ark
#16 seed First Blood
Here, we see a first round showdown between two of the most iconic action heroes in film, Indiana Jones and John Rambo. First Blood is a little light on the action, relative to the rest of the franchise, as it focuses more on Rambo’s struggles when he returns home from war. Raiders of the Lost Ark sees Indiana Jones in his prime, fighting Nazis and going after priceless artifacts.
#8 seed Casino Royale
#9 seed From Russia With Love
It’s a 007 double header as the two highest seeded Bond movies face off in the first round. At the eight seed, we have Daniel Craig’s debut outing as Bond, Casino Royale, which brings the franchise new life and a grittier take on the character. Coming in at the nine seed is From Russia with Love, often considered Sean Connery’s best performance as Bond, featuring great villains and some of the best action sequences in the whole franchise.
#4 seed The Dark Knight
#13 seed Iron Man
A superhero showdown awaits us in this 4-13 matchup. Two of the biggest movies of 2008, we have The Dark Knight, a movie which elevated the super hero genre to previously unseen heights thanks in large part to the direction of Christopher Nolan and an unforgettable performance by Heath Ledger as the Joker, and we have Iron Man, a career-saver for Robert Downey, Jr. and the movie that kicked off the Marvel Cinematic Universe, one of the most critically and financially successful franchises of all time.
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#5 seed Unforgiven
#12 seed Skyfall
One of several tough 5-12 matchups in this tournament, as we have Unforgiven going against Skyfall. Unforgiven sees Clint Eastwood at the height of his powers as a director and performer, although his character is a gunslinger far past the heights of his powers. This movie is expertly crafted, while telling a heartbreaking tale of man’s inability to change who he really is. Skyfall similarly deals with James Bond trying to escape his past and face his demons through numerous forms, while featuring one of the tightest stories in the Bond franchise.
#3 seed The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
#14 seed The Outlaw Josey Wales
It’s an all Clint Eastwood matchup in this one, where The Outlaw Josey Wales is taking on The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. Josey Wales is a passionate story of revenge, while Good, Bad, Ugly is the culmination of the Man with No Name trilogy of spaghetti westerns.
#6 seed Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
#11 seed The Bourne Identity
Jason Bourne takes on one of the most famous duos in movie history, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, played by Paul Newman and Robert Redford in one of their numerous collaborations. The Bourne Identity turned Matt Damon into an action star and helped shape the modern action thriller into what it presently is.
#2 seed Tombstone
#15 seed The Magnificent Seven
This matchup sees one of the great westerns of all time facing off with a modern western classic. The Magnificent Seven has an all star cast of Steve McQueen, Yul Brenner, Eli Wallach, Charles Bronson, James Coburn, and Robert Vaughn, but Tombstone is equally packed with Kurt Russell, Sam Elliott, Bill Paxton, Powers Boothe, and of course, Val Kilmer as Doc Holliday.
#7 seed Die Hard
#10 seed Batman Begins
This matchup is a pretty strong pairing, seeing an everyday NY cop John McClane go up against billionaire playboy Bruce Wayne’s alter ego: Batman. Die Hard is about as well crafted an action movie out there, full of great one liners, thrills, and a legendary villain in Hans Gruber, played masterfully by Alan Rickman. On the other side, we have the beginning of Nolan’s superb Dark Knight trilogy, with a compelling narrative, good villains between Liam Neeson’s Ra’s Al Ghul and Cillian Murphey’s Scarecrow, and a great base that The Dark Knight would later build upon.
#1 seed Raiders of the Lost Ark
#16 seed First Blood
Here, we see a first round showdown between two of the most iconic action heroes in film, Indiana Jones and John Rambo. First Blood is a little light on the action, relative to the rest of the franchise, as it focuses more on Rambo’s struggles when he returns home from war. Raiders of the Lost Ark sees Indiana Jones in his prime, fighting Nazis and going after priceless artifacts.
While these are both the best examples of these franchises, in my book, I think this one is hands down Raiders of the Lost Ark.
#8 seed Casino Royale
#9 seed From Russia With Love
It’s a 007 double header as the two highest seeded Bond movies face off in the first round. At the eight seed, we have Daniel Craig’s debut outing as Bond, Casino Royale, which brings the franchise new life and a grittier take on the character. Coming in at the nine seed is From Russia with Love, often considered Sean Connery’s best performance as Bond, featuring great villains and some of the best action sequences in the whole franchise.
This is certainly a tough matchup, but I am going to have to go with Casino Royale.
#4 seed The Dark Knight
#13 seed Iron Man
A superhero showdown awaits us in this 4-13 matchup. Two of the biggest movies of 2008, we have The Dark Knight, a movie which elevated the super hero genre to previously unseen heights thanks in large part to the direction of Christopher Nolan and an unforgettable performance by Heath Ledger as the Joker, and we have Iron Man, a career-saver for Robert Downey, Jr. and the movie that kicked off the Marvel Cinematic Universe, one of the most critically and financially successful franchises of all time.
This is a tough one for me as a fan of all things comic book movie and especially because these two are among the pinnacle of the genre, but I’m going to have to go with The Dark Knight
#5 seed Unforgiven
#12 seed Skyfall
One of several tough 5-12 matchups in this tournament, as we have Unforgiven going against Skyfall. Unforgiven sees Clint Eastwood at the height of his powers as a director and performer, although his character is a gunslinger far past the heights of his powers. This movie is expertly crafted, while telling a heartbreaking tale of man’s inability to change who he really is. Skyfall similarly deals with James Bond trying to escape his past and face his demons through numerous forms, while featuring one of the tightest stories in the Bond franchise.
This is a very tough matchup, because Skyfall is in the conversation for the best Bond of all time, but I’m going to have to go with Unforgiven.
#3 seed The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
#14 seed The Outlaw Josey Wales
It’s an all Clint Eastwood matchup in this one, where The Outlaw Josey Wales is taking on The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. Josey Wales is a passionate story of revenge, while Good, Bad, Ugly is the culmination of the Man with No Name trilogy of spaghetti westerns.
You can make a strong case for either of these movies to advance, but when it comes to Clint Eastwood westerns, you’re hard pressed to find one better than The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.
#6 seed Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
#11 seed The Bourne Identity
Jason Bourne takes on one of the most famous duos in movie history, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, played by Paul Newman and Robert Redford in one of their numerous collaborations. The Bourne Identity turned Matt Damon into an action star and helped shape the modern action thriller into what it presently is.
This matchup pairs two movies that are very different stylistically, and it will be interesting to see how this matchup shakes out, but I’m voting for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
#2 seed Tombstone
#15 seed The Magnificent Seven
This matchup sees one of the great westerns of all time facing off with a modern western classic. The Magnificent Seven has an all star cast of Steve McQueen, Yul Brenner, Eli Wallach, Charles Bronson, James Coburn, and Robert Vaughn, but Tombstone is equally packed with Kurt Russell, Sam Elliott, Bill Paxton, Powers Boothe, and of course, Val Kilmer as Doc Holliday.
This matchup has a lot to like, and you can’t go wrong with either movie, but I’m going to vote for Tombstone.
#7 seed Die Hard
#10 seed Batman Begins
This matchup is a pretty strong pairing, seeing an everyday NY cop John McClane go up against billionaire playboy Bruce Wayne’s alter ego: Batman. Die Hard is about as well crafted an action movie out there, full of great one liners, thrills, and a legendary villain in Hans Gruber, played masterfully by Alan Rickman. On the other side, we have the beginning of Nolan’s superb Dark Knight trilogy, with a compelling narrative, good villains between Liam Neeson’s Ra’s Al Ghul and Cillian Murphey’s Scarecrow, and a great base that The Dark Knight would later build upon.
When it comes down to it though, I have to go with Die Hard.
